By Gennady Fyodorov
Moscow - Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova crushed top seed Vera Zvonareva 6-0 6-2 in the second round of the Kremlin Cup on Thursday, eliminating the Russian from the women's season-ending tournament in Doha.
Zvonareva's defeat enabled second seed Jelena Jankovic to clinch the last remaining spot in next week's WTA championships regardless of her own progress in Moscow.
Poland's third seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who also had a shot at qualifying for Doha at the start of the week, saw her chances disappear after a first-round defeat by Russia's Maria Kirilenko on Wednesday.
Last year's losing men's finalist Marat Safin followed Zvonareva out of his home tournament, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, going down to fellow Russian Evgeny Korolev 6-4 7-6 on the last match of the day on centre court.
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Former world number one Safin could not reproduce the heroics that saw him dismantle top seed Nikolay Davydenko in the first round just 24 hours ago.
"It just didn't work out for me today," said the 29-year-old, who is retiring at the end of the season.
"He had nothing to lose, no pressure whatsoever playing against me, so he was able to fire winners almost at will.
"I really wanted to do well here, this being my last year, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be."
Jankovic stayed on course to defend her Kremlin Cup title with a 7-6 6-3 victory over Czech Lucie Safarova to reach the quarterfinals where she will meet unseeded Russian Alisa Kleybanova.
Jankovic said she was not thinking of easing up after clinching a place in Doha.
"No, I came here to compete and I want to get as many (ranking) points as possible and get closer to the girls who are (ranked) higher than me," said Serbia's world number nine.
"It was very important for me to qualify for the Championships because it is only for the top eight players and I want to have a chance to compete against the best."
Zvonareva, however, was not too disappointed to miss out on the $4.55-million extravaganza.
"I'm happy my season is over," the world number seven, who has been nursing a long-term ankle injury, told a news conference.
"Now I'll have enough time to recover and get ready for a new season."
Pironkova, 22, was overjoyed with her victory, only her fourth of the year on the main tour and first since April.
"This is the biggest win ever for me, definitely," said the world number 126, who will face Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko in the last eight.
"Vera is a great player and was the top seed here so I'm very happy with the way I played. The score was a surprise for me but I enjoyed it a lot." - Reuters
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